A New Home
by Sebby47
Summary: My first fanfic ever. Harry Potter/Stargate Atlantis Crossover. Tired of wizards and their treatment of him after the war Harry Potter decides it's high time he moved on past this life. Hoping to find solace in death or maybe a chance to find Sirius he throws himself in the veil, however he just cant seem to catch a break.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

This is my first fanfic, please be gentle. :p

* * *

Chapter 1 Homeward bound.

'Security seems to be tighter these days.' Harry thought as he tried his best to walk silently down the ministry corridors, his fists clenched tightly around his cloak in an effort to keep it from slipping off and revealing his presence to the random Aurors chatting and walking from place to place.

'It's good to see they've learned from their mistakes, the bloody idiots.' he couldn't help but grin to himself, 'Still haven't covered all their baskets, though.'

It had been over four months since the fall of the dark lord and wizardkind was still making massive efforts to rebuild. Chasing down missing death eaters, combing the ministry ranks for pureblood sympathizers and unmarked death eaters. Rebuilding Hogwarts to the majestic learning institute it once was. It was slow and arduous work, but at least they were finally trying.

Not all of us saw the light at the end of the tunnel though. While the wizarding world was trying to change for the better, they still seemed to fall back into old habits. Mainly going back to pick on their favorite hero. Soon after the defeat of Voldemort an up and coming gossip columnist, hoping to replace Rita Skeeter, started running articles questioning himself isolation from the wizarding world. What started out as a personal effort to find himself after the horrors of the war, was quickly twisted by some trounced up trollop into a fantastical tale of his fall into the world of the dark arts. And while his close friends knew not to play attention to such sensational claims, the rest of the world started to look at me differently.

In the end, he simply got tired of it all, tired of the stares, tired of the whispers, tired of wizards in general. After losing so much, there was simply nothing more for him to give. And when he'd had enough he came to a decision, to just leave it all behind. Slowly but surely he placed his plan into action. His fortune, or what was left of it, he bequeathed to his godson Teddy, and his mantle of godfather he turned over to his most trusted friend Hermione Granger. If anyone would keep him in a safe and loving environment, in the event of his grandmother's death, it would be her. The rest he spread amongst his friends, little trinkets here and there, his most prized possessions handed to those who'd need them the most, the marauders map sent to an unsuspecting headmistress of Hogwarts with instructions and the hope that she use it to keep her students safe.

And when the time came, he knew just where to go. Even if he was chasing death, the smallest chance that he could find him was all he needed. To give his life in an effort to find his godfather seemed justifiable in his eyes, to try and save the man who had given his life to save his own. But even he knew he was merely grasping at straws, finding excuses to throw his life away. But still, his mind was set, he'd had enough of this world.

And so with his cloak securely wrapped around him and both his holly wand and the elder wand securely strapped in their holsters, he slowly made his way down the ministry corridors towards the department of mysteries and the one place he knew would grant him the freedom he sought. The Veil. 

* * *

Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy.

In a secret lab once belonging to the Alteran scientist known as Janus an unusual wind seemed to pick up, silver sheets that had covered equipment for millennia untouched fluttered and moved in this unseen breeze.

Sitting on a pedestal, a device whose use had been banned by the Lantean Council, seemed to shimmer in a variegation of colors before settling into a mirror like surface. Suddenly the device flashed and in his usual manner, Harry Potter arrived at his destination. Shooting through the portal in a most unbecoming manner Harry was thrown unceremoniously across the lab, trapped within the sheet that once used to cover the device. Groaning Harry picked up the remains of his battered body off the floor while simultaneously ripping off the sheet he was entangled in.

"Merlin be damned! I just can't catch a break can I ?!" yelled harry as he quickly took stock of his surroundings. 'Well this isn't what I was expecting…' though harry after giving the room a cursory look.

"Hello!? Is anybody home?" Asked harry to the empty room. Harry frowned at the lack of response, "I guess not" he said with a sigh.

Quickly assessing that his cloak and wands were still in his possession he deftly pulled his Holly wand from his holster and silently cast a Lumos. As the ethereal light illuminated his surroundings he quickly took in the untouched appearance of the lab.

"It looks like no one's been home for a while…" he muttered to himself in disappointment.

"I guess it was foolish of me to think you were here Sirius.." he said quietly, his shoulders falling in dejection.

Quietly making his way around the room he was quick to jump into a defensive position as the lights overhead began to flicker and come to life, even the walls seemed to glow as they illuminated one by one as he made his way around the room. Deftly keeping his wand at the ready he slowly made his way towards what appeared to be the only entrance to the room. Only to let out his breath in surprise as the door whooshed open as he neared.

"Well that's not unsettling at all," he said as he cautiously peered around the frame of the entrance, hoping to god that the door wouldn't decide to close on him as he glanced down the deserted hallway.

Keeping his wand at the ready he cautiously made his way through the hall marveling as the lights kept coming on, illuminating his path as he steadily made his way through the structure.

"Whoever these people were they were definitely light years ahead of muggles." He muttered to himself as he looked in appreciation at the sleek looking interior.

While making his way around a corner he couldn't help but gasp as he finally encountered his first view of the outside.

"It's a city." He whispered in awe as he took in the massive spires that seemed to be spread out in the darkness.

"Oh… that's not good.." he said as he finally glanced upwards through the murky darkness and noticed the refracting light glimmering above the city. 

* * *

It wasn't long before Harry found what he assumed to be the central hub of the city. The more he cautiously explored the more he came to hold the creators of such magnificence in high regard. He knew the people from his world would be hard pressed to ever create anything of this magnitude or this advanced, and with every new section explored he grew further in awe of that which surrounded him. Before he knew it he had stumbled across a large dais proudly displaying a large ring-shaped structure marked with symbols whose meaning of he had no idea. However he hypothesized it was some kind of portal or doorway, to where he hadn't the slightest clue but for now, he chose to avoid it at all cost especially taking into consideration his previous experience with portals to the unknown.

With little to do and much time on his hands he continued his search in the hopes of finding the answer to where he was. The more he explored the more he began to wonder just why a civilization as advanced as the beings who had created all this seemed to have abandoned a city such as this. It was mind boggling. And it wasn't until he stumbled across a chamber containing a raised hexagonal platform with a device that looked like a pew that he received his answer.

Cautiously making his way around the chamber he gave a startled yelp as the platform lit up suddenly, a woman in strange garb appearing from nowhere without the telltale sound of apparation. He fired a silent stunner out of habit and dodged behind the pew, hoping to use it as cover as he tried to mitigate any impending attack, he quickly peered around the corner and fired another stunner only to watch with a gobsmacked expression as the stunner flew straight through the woman to splash harmlessly onto the wall behind her.

The woman stood there staring blankly ahead as if nothing had happened and before long she started speaking, surprisingly enough in English.

Two hours later and Harry Potter had one of the biggest migraines he had ever experienced, not quite as painful as when he had thrown Voldemort from his mind after his first adventure in the department of mysteries, but definitely a close second.

"Out of the fire and into the dragon's mouth as always Potter.." he murmured to himself as he sat dejectedly in a corner of the chamber, his palms pressed to his forehead in an attempt to alleviate his growing headache.

"I'm starting to think I should have just dealt with the stupid tabloids at this point." he said to himself as he pondered the issue he now faced of being stuck in a different galaxy, facing life-sucking monsters who had managed to scare off the most advanced civilization known to mankind, in a city trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface.

"Well on the bright side, I can claim to be the first wizard to have found the lost city of Atlantis," he grinned to himself.

"Hermione would have kittens if only she knew." he chuckled.

"And wizardkind would bemoan the fact that one of their most revered legends has nothing to do with wizards at all." Tiredly he picked himself off the floor and made his way to the control terminal of what he learned to be a repository of knowledge used to teach young Lanteans about the many accomplishments of their race, the Alterans, and their history in the galaxies which they inhabited.

Over the next few days he learned as much as he could about the city ship he now called home, learning as much as he could of their language, looking up the history of the Alterans, and how they seeded the galaxies, their use of the rings which he discovered were named Astria Porta which they used to colonize new worlds. Their many advances in technology, which to him seemed magical in its own right. And learning more of their enemies, the creatures called the Wraith.

It wasn't until two days passed that he experienced something which could turn into a major problem. While the food he had packed into his moleskin pouch would last him for a few more weeks, he started to notice the occasional tremors that plagued the city become more frequent and their intensity more frightening as the days progressed. And so with the knowledge that something was wrong, he began to dedicate as much time as he could to learning to read Alteran and having the hologram explain to him how to operate the systems used to control the city ship known as Atlantis. 

* * *

"Oh this isn't good Potter, this is not good at all," Harry told himself as he looked at the blinking screen in front of him.

It had almost been a week since he had arrived on Atlantis, and with his crude understanding of the language and with major help from the hologram he had finally pieced together what seemed to be the cause of all the tremors plaguing the city ship. Its power was running out, and slowly but surely the shields holding back the water were starting to fail. Taking into consideration that he was the sole inhabitant of the ship, luck seemed to be on his side for now. But if he did not find a way to replace the three modules used to power the shields then he wasn't sure how much longer his luck would last.

With that knowledge in hand, Harry started searching what he could in the repository in the hopes of finding a possible solution to the diminishing power levels of the cells, which he came to learn were called Potentia. Unfortunately, he came to realize that the Lanteans didn't just leave a few spare Potentia laying about. He also came to the realization that they never expected anyone but their ancestors to find the city of Atlantis and that any descendants of the Lanteans would surely know that a City Ship of this magnitude would need new Potentia, especially after having laid dormant on the bottom of the ocean for many millennia.

And so, with this depressing revelation in mind, he started planning for the worst. With his limited knowledge of what laid on the surface, he quickly wrote off apparition from his list, not only needing to be able to visualize his destination but worrying about being stranded in the middle of the ocean with no knowledge of where to go. And unfortunately, he didn't have any gillyweed on hand to enable his swim to freedom once the shield came down and water flooded the city. He considered using the Astria Porta to make a quick escape to one of the listed gate addresses in the repository but quickly learned that he had far surpassed the time allotted for that to be an option, his stay having depleted the Potentia to the point where even dialing up the gate address would deplete what little energy was left. He even thought of using a bubble head charm to get to the surface, but once he took into consideration what the pressure at this depth would do to his body he quickly crossed that option off his list, but that line of thought did help him mitigate some of the damage being done to the Potentia.

With time running out and the tremors becoming more pronounced harry took to using the bubble head charm whenever he was awake it the hope of lowering the stress he was putting on the life support systems, and while he may have bought himself a few days of respite he realized quickly that it wouldn't be enough. His mere presence within the city having activated systems that had long sat dormant. It wasn't until his tenth day that Harry's desperation finally lead him to a plan that would either lead to his salvation or lead him to an early grave.

The more time Harry spent within the city, the more Harry realized that for whatever reason the technology here on Atlantis did not react to his magic the same way it did back in his world. Where the technology of his world would experience adverse effects from merely being in his presence, here in Atlantis everything seemed to have the opposite effect. Machines came to life with an almost happy hum whenever he was in a room, and he slowly realized that any system in his immediate vicinity would illuminate brighter than those a few feet away. It seemed that whatever it was that powered the Potentia was similar enough to his magic that the hardware around him drew energy from him. And so with this in mind, he quickly came up with an idea.

Squinting with concentration at the diagram illuminating the screen harry slowly tried to commit it to memory as he quietly murmured to himself.

"It's not that far from here, but it's definitely in a section of the city I haven't explored. I can only hope I don't get lost along the way."

With a final look at the screen Harry turned quickly and ran over to the chamber that held the hologram used to teach young Lanteans. Over the course of many days harry had set up shop within the chamber, transfiguring empty plant pots, crates and the sheets used to cover the machinery of Atlantis into a small bed for one, a desk and sheets of parchment for his use in studying. He quickly shuffled over to a chest he had transfigured from a crate that was sitting at the foot of his bed and began to dig through the contents. Finally with an exclamation of "Gotcha!" Harry deftly pulled the Elder Wand from the bottom the chest and securely placed it in its holster on his left arm.

Quickly running across the chamber, Harry made his way toward the room containing the Astria Porta. Skipping down the steps towards the gate two at a time he made a beeline in the direction of one of the corridors leading to the main power distribution center housing the three Potentia used to power Atlantis. As he ran down the hallway he began praying to whatever deity out there that his foolish plan would work. From his limited understanding of the readings, he knew that he had barely enough power left to hold up the shield for a few more hours, it seemed like his luck had finally run out.

But before he could even make it halfway to the power station, something unexpected happened. Skidding to a stop he quickly turned and faced the room containing the Astria Porta, hearing a noise he'd never heard before he stopped and ran towards one of the many windows lining the walls and peered intently at the alcove he knew contained the Astria Porta only to widen his eyes in horror as he saw through the murky depths the symbols on the gate light up one by one. 

* * *

Colonel Marshall Sumner, US marine and military leader of the Atlantis Expedition quickly assessed his surroundings. Whatever he expected when he walked through the gate it certainly wasn't this. Most people would call him pessimistic but he had learned from experience that things never went as planned when you expected them too and quite honestly he was more prepared to face an ambush once he stepped through the gate than he was an empty city, and he wasn't ashamed to admit he felt a little disappointment at the lack of confrontation. Receiving the confirmation signal from stargate command that the last of the team had come through he picked up his radio and contacted Weir.

" That's Everyone."

Doctor Elizabeth Weir snapped out of her trance as the call from Colonel Sumner came in, quickly she pull her radio up and turned to the Stargate as she issued what could very well be her last communica to earth.

"General O'Neill. Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut power to the gate."

As she stared at the stargate expectantly she couldn't help the smile that graced her face as a champagne bottle rolled out of the gate and across the floor moments before the gate shut down.

As Doctor Weir watches the marines clear the area she couldn't help but marvel at how the city came to life around them, lights start to flicker on and doors slide open automatically as marines and scientist alike begin exploring the area surrounding the Gate. She quickly spots Colonel Sumner from the corner of her eye as he raises his head high and addresses his marines.

"Teams one and two secure the immediate area."

His marines give him quick nods of affirmative as they efficiently split into teams and begin their mission of securing the area. Colonel Sumners then turned his head and addresses the rest of the room.

"Everyone else find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise!"

Weir stood in the middle of the room gazing at Sheppard and Mckay as they headed towards the steps of what she assumed to be the control room. As Sheppard starts to walk up the steps the stairs seem to light up of their own accord. Quickly turning to Colonel Sumner she asks, "Who's doing that?" however, before Colonel Sumner could lift his radio to ask his marines she was startled by a commotion coming from one of the hallways to the far left of the gate. 

* * *

Harry couldn't believe his bloody luck, after days of not having any contact with the beings in this galaxy and getting comfortable with the fact that he probably wouldn't be getting any visitors, someone had decided that today of all days would be the perfect time to give good old Atlantis a wake-up call. Running as fast as his feet could carry him he quickly skidded around a corner turning into the hallway that leads back to the Astria Porta, bolting down the corridor, his breath burned in his lungs and he gave a startled yelp as the doorway at the end of the hall opened to reveal a pair of men dressed in military gear pointing muggle assault rifles at him. Quickly assessing the threat he conjured a shield around himself and threw a banishing charm at them watching grimly as both of what appeared to be marines flew through the air and back into the room containing the Astria Porta.

Steeling his resolve he hastily cast a Sonorus on himself and started yelling as he kept his mad dash towards the room hoping to salvage what was quickly turning into a shitty situation.

"Stop! Turn off the Portal! You fools, you'll kill us all!"

Pushing his legs to the extreme he bolted through the doorway only to stop and stare in shock at mass on people congregated in the hall that housed the control hub.

For the people of the Atlantis expedition the feeling seemed to be mutual, shock rippled through the group as they stood there, recovering from the dramatic entrance the man had just made. His messy hair seemed to blow in an unseen breeze, emerald green eyes glowing with power as he stood there seeming to take them all in. A visible aura around him made many step back and stumble as they feared the wrath of what they believed to be an ancient in their presence. Colonel Sumner, ever the marine, quickly assessed the new threat and with sharp gestures ordered his men into a defensive position in front of the expedition scientist.

As harry stood there getting his bearings, he snapped back to his old habits as he saw the marines quickly come into a formation in front of the crowd, their rifles raised at him. With speed his didn't think he had, considering he'd used most of his energy running just to get here, he raised his wand only to recoil in shock as the marines took the threatening gesture for what it was and opened fire. Sparks seemed to fly and his shield turned red as shot after shot of automated fire seemed to splash harmlessly across it. Bracing his feet he took a step forward a yelled, " Enough!" the shout roaring through the room and sending people to the floor from the amplified sound.

Before they could recover Harry brought the Elder Wand to bear and silently fired an Expelliarmus Maximus across the room watching with a grim look as weapons were ripped from their owner's hands, in some cases half dragging them across the room as they were violently torn from their grasps and into the hallway behind him.

"Stop this madness!" Harry yelled again.

And in the moments after his exclamation, you could hear a pin drop in the silence that seemed to permeate the air.

Weir stood in shock at the scene that played before her eyes, their first encounter in the Pegasus galaxy and they seemed to have managed to piss off the first ancient they encountered. She felt the weight of the world settle on her shoulders as she took in the enraged disposition of the young man before her. Whoever or whatever this being was, it definitely wasn't someone to be trifled with. She quickly snapped out of her daze when she finally heard him speak again, though this time, his voice didn't seem to boom from the heavens as it did with his initial appearance.

"Who's in charge here?" the young man asked the crowd as they slowly helped their fallen comrades to their feet.

Colonel Sumner seemed to rise to the occasion, placing himself in front of her in what she could only assume to be a protective maneuver. But before he could open his mouth she decided to take charge of the situation before it became unsalvageable.

" I am! My name is Doctor Elizabeth Weir, the people you see before you are an international contingent of scientist and explorers from a planet called earth. Sent to the pegasus galaxy in hopes of finding the lost city of Atlantis. We are what your people once called the Tau'ri. Millions of years ago there was a race of beings we called the ancients. They created a network of what we call stargates throughout our galaxy.." however before she could continue the young man held up a hand and interrupted her.

"I'm sorry doctor Weir, but the ancients as you call them are long gone, and if your people don't get out of my way we'll soon be joining them," he said a frown marring his features.

Weir looked at his face for the first time and finally immersed herself in the frightened look in his eyes. She quickly made her way to the front of the crowd, ignoring Colonel Sumners attempts to grab her as she shuffled past her crew to face the young man before her.

While he held his head high and looked ready to face anything they could throw at him, she slowly came to realize there was an undercurrent of unease and horror he seemed to be holding back. Finally standing before him she looked him in the eyes and tried to express her willingness to help.

"Please, tell me what's going on?" she said, hoping to convey that she meant no harm.

Harry sighed as he stared at her, taking in her appearance and that of the shell-shocked group behind her.

"There isn't much time doctor Weir, as much as I appreciate the company after so much time alone, I'm afraid your arrival has come at the most inopportune time." with a flick of his wrist he holstered his wand and raised his hands in a show of peace.

Inclining his head towards one of the windows he held out a hand in the hope that she would accept it. Before anyone could tell her otherwise the woman stepped forward and took his hand in hers, gazing into his eyes with trust. Harry gently held her hand and walked slowly toward the window, guiding her with him.

"I guess in some respect your efforts are to be commended, you came looking for the lost city of Atlantis and I can tell you most assuredly that you have found it," he said guiding her gaze out the window.

"But this city was not ours to discover, neither you or I," he whispered.

Elizabeth gasped as she looked out into the abyss, marveling at the city spread before her. She turned her gaze towards him again and he smiled comfortingly but directed her gaze upwards.

"This city has been hidden away for 10 thousand years beneath the ocean's surface, and unfortunately, it's time has run out. The shields that hold the ocean back from crushing the city no longer have the power required to sustain them, and I'm afraid that your arrival has expended the last of its power. Without new Potentia to replace the ones we have, our time has run out." he said gazing at the city forlornly.

"Rodney!" Elizabeth yelled, turning quickly to scan the crowd behind her.

"I heard him Elizabeth!" Rodney shouted from the second level of gate room as he tapped furiously on his laptop gazing intently at the readouts from one of the ancient terminals in front of him and the screen on his laptop.

"He's right Elizabeth, from what I can ascertain the city is powered by three Zero Point Modules. Two are entirely depleted and the third is about to reach maximum entropy. When it does, it'll die too and nothing will be able to reverse it." he quickly turned his laptop towards them and showed them a diagram of Atlantis on its screen.

"The forcefield holding back the ocean has already collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels. We're out of time…" he said gazing fearfully at them from across the room.

Suddenly the room shook with the force of an earthquake sending people and equipment to the floor as the city seemed to take its final shuddering breath. The people from her expedition gave out startled yells of fright as the tremors intensified, and as she turned to gaze that the being before her she took in the sad look in his eyes and the bitter smile on his lips as he turned and hugged her in what seemed to be his final effort at comfort before their untimely death, only for them to both give startled yelps as they were both thrown to the floor by the feeling of rapid ascension.

On the surface of the ocean, the once peaceful waters seem to erupt as the first tower broke the surface and the rest of the city followed shortly after. From the control room sunlight poured in through the windows and as the city settled on the ocean's surface, the internal lights come on one by one. Glancing out the windows from his position on the floor Harry quickly stood, holding out his hand for Doctor Weir he helped her to her feet and together they walk with awestruck looks towards the window gazing in amazement at the city laid bare before them, water still cascading down the windows.

"We're on the surface," whispered Harry, still gazing intently out the window.

{Edit#2: I'd like to thank SiantMichals95 for pointing out my error in regards to the time Atlantis has spent beneath the oceans surface. The appropriate changes have been made.}

{Edit#3: Thanks to MVDB for pointing out my horrible grammar, I've gone back and fixed as much as I could and added details where needed. Hopefully, my writing will get better as the story develops."}


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Head Honcho

* * *

It had only been eight hours after the city had made its miraculous rise to the surface when Harry had finally deigned to show his presence to the general public. After the commotion had run its course, and he'd finally decided to show his face, the leaders of the Atlantis expedition had come together and asked him to attend a discussion about where they stood in regards to their presence in Atlantis. Though it was Doctor Weir who did most of the asking. So it was that Harry found himself sitting in a conference room that hadn't housed another being since the late Lantean Council and for the first time being properly introduce to the leaders of the expedition, though he couldn't help but feel a bit out of sorts.

Without having to worry about being in the presence of any living being besides a hologram for the last two weeks Harry was a bit embarrassed to admit he hadn't really been keeping up with his appearance, his hair was quite disheveled, even by his standards. And because of his lack of knowledge regarding household charms, he found himself sporting a thick five o'clock shadow. His clothes, some old school pants and a Gryffindor red button up dress shirt were rumpled from not having anything else to wear since his trip through the veil, not to mention he kept getting odd stares from the team at his wizarding cloak.

In the moments after the city had risen to the surface, Harry had teleported away leaving the room dumbfounded and slightly startled from the loud popping noise his disapparition produced, reappearing in the room containing the hologram and all his possessions. Quickly getting to work on transfiguring the bed and desk back into their original forms he stuffed the rest in his transfigured chest with the Locomotor spell and proceeded to shrink it and place it in his pocket. Once he was done he threw a muggle repelling and disillusionment charm on himself and made his way back to the room containing his newly arrived guests. For the next few hours he watched as the Atlantis expedition made themselves at home, he marveled at how much they knew about the technology surrounding them and couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that these people, who were seeing all for this for the first time, had more knowledge of the systems that ran Atlantis than he did.

It wasn't until he overheard an argument that Colonel Sumner was having with Doctor Weir that he decided to announce his presence.

"Listen, until we know what this beings intentions are I want all the scientist secured in this room. We need to send out teams immediately to locate and assess whether or not this thing poses a threat to the mission!" Sumner was telling Weir, his face set in one of the most fearsome frowns Harry had ever seen on a person.

Canceling his spells Harry suddenly appeared behind the pair and sardonically replied, "Why don't you just ask me yourself."

The pair jumped at his sudden appearance and he couldn't help but smirk at the startled looks on their faces.

"Relax," he said.

"If I was a threat to any of you I doubt there'd be much you could do about it. And I don't appreciate being called a thing," here he shot a glare at colonel Sumner whose frown only deepened. "if you really need to call me something then you can go ahead and call me by my given name. It's Harry Potter by the way, and it's a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance." Here he shot a smile at Doctor Weir and held out his hand in greeting.

"Mr. Potter, the pleasure is all mine," Weir said, accepting his hand in greeting.

"I was hoping to see you again, maybe we could have a discussion and lay some of Colonel Sumners fears to rest." She said, directing her gaze to one of the rooms the marines had previously discovered.

Harry nodded his head in agreeance, "Lead the way, Dr. Weir."

And so it was that Harry found himself sitting in a conference room being introduced to the leaders of the Atlantis expedition, other than Weir and Sumner who he had already met before hand he was introduced to their Chief Science Officer Dr. Rodney McKay, their Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carson Beckett and loitering to the side of the room, looking thoroughly uncomfortable, was one Major John Sheppard.

So far they had informed Harry of their purpose here in the Pegasus galaxy; their search for the lost city of Atlantis, the threat they faced on earth and their need to procure any technology that would assist in protecting earth from said threats. But the more they told him the more he came to distinguish the many differences between their world and the one he left behind. Too many differences in fact. From the little he could paste together about the world they came from and comparing it to his own he began to hypothesize that he'd somehow traveled to an alternate reality. Though he wasn't ready to throw out the possibility that he really was dead and was living in some kind of purgatorial dreamlike state just yet. But for now, Harry was being positive in choosing to believe his first hypothesis to be the most likely option.

Snapping himself from his thoughts he came back just in time to hear Weir's last statement.

"...and so, until we can find more ZPM's there's no possible way that we'll be able to open a wormhole back to earth," finished Weir.

"Then it would seem Dr. Weir, that we are both stuck far from home and without a way back," Harry replied.

At this Rodney McKay seemed to come alive and throw in his two cents. "And just for us that are curious, where exactly is it that you come from?"

Harry almost snorted in mirth as everyone seemed to perk up.

"Wouldn't you like to know ," he said with a grin.

Mckay's owlish look proceeded to make Harry laugh as McKay sputtered and said "Yes, I would. You know that's kinda why I asked."

McKay turned to the room and urged "That is what I asked right?"

Sheppard seemed to smirk at him as he replied, "Yeah Rodney, I think he got the question."

"Well then, why won't you tell us?" Mckay said directing his owlish gaze back at Harry.

"The world I come from is gone Dr. McKay," Harry said, coming up with a story on the spot.

"I am the last of my kind. And just like yourselves, I knew that when I came through the Astria Porta that I was committing myself to a one-way trip." This seemed to catch the rooms attention.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Weir asked, her eyes gleaming with sympathy.

"The same thing that happens to most failed civilizations, we destroyed ourselves from the inside out." He shrugged, introducing some bitterness into his words.

"My people were gifted with unprecedented control over the world in which we resided. However all that power came at a price, and for the vast majority of my people, it corrupted them to their very core. Our abilities turned my people arrogant, and that arrogance festered until it turned into fear and hatred."

"Hatred for those they considered unequal. And fear of what those people, the vast majority, would do if they were to ever ban together against them. In the end, the civil war that overtook my world was so great that the planet's surface was scorched, by the time I left the remaining few were fighting to see who would be crowned king of a pile of ashes." He finished off with a pained grimace.

"And just whose side were you on in all of this?" Colonel Sumner asked, the same ugly frown marring his face since the start of the meeting.

"I was one of the few people holding out hope for the reconciliation of all beings on my world," Harry replied quite honestly.

"Not everyone held the same ideals as those in power," he said, shooting a look a Sumner. " it was always our hope to bridge both worlds together. Though we may have been naive to hope that it would happen within our lifetime we clutched to those dreams with conviction." Harry let his shoulders drop in faux dejection at this point.

"In the end, I left in the search for a brighter tomorrow."

"Now I believe that that's enough for today about my world, I've had enough reminiscing about the past. For the moment we have bigger issues to attend to don't we?" Harry said, trying to deflect the conversation as much as possible.

Dr. Weir, seeing his reluctance to continue talking about his "tragic" past steered the conversation towards safer waters.

"Yes as a matter of fact we do. Now that we know that we're both here to stay, and since your arrival predates ours. We wish to negotiate with you the terms of our stay." At this Colonel Sumner seemed about ready to explode, but before he could begin an angry tirade aimed at Weir, Harry chuckled and raised a hand asking for their attention.

"As much as I appreciate what you're doing Dr. Weir, there is no need to genuflect. You're more than welcome to make yourselves at home. I'll make you a copy of the key's as soon as I've found them." Harry said jokingly with a wide grin on his face, taking in the relieved looks on everybody's face, especially .

"I'm sure we're all ecstatic to hear that," said Weir, glancing at the room and receiving enthusiastic nods of agreement in return, sans Sumner whose frown only seemed to have faded by a fraction.

"Now Rodney, if you could please give us a breakdown of the overall status of Atlantis so far?" At this Rodney seemed to perk up and jump right into his element.

"Well, while we may no longer have the power to dial back home, now that the shields aren't exerting themselves by trying to hold back an ocean systems are coming to life and we have greater access to the city than when we arrived, we also have more than enough power to dial worlds within this galaxy," Rodney said while standing up from his seat and walking over to a monitor that one someone had set up in the room.

"Fortunately, some Ancient technology still uses good old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and start downloading its database of know Gate addresses," he said gesturing towards a scrolling screen of symbols.

"Now, Grodin has managed to find out how to operate the Gates shield which works in the same manner as the iris on earth only better."

At this Weir perked up, "Well, at least we won't have to deal with any uninvited guests," she said.

"Unfortunately, we no longer have several hundred feet of water to protect us. We're on the surface now and without that shield, we're target practice." Sheppard said, speaking up for the first time since being introduced.

"I have to agree with Major Sheppard, as much as I wish us to be safe here we're not. There's a reason the Lanteans sunk Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean," said harry, gaining everyone's attention once more.

"Thousands of years ago the Lanteans or Ancients as you call them, encountered a species of parasites on a planet which they had seeded with human life. These creatures fed on the humans of this world, eventually evolving and taking on human characteristics and at some point they grew smart enough to even take on the Alterans. Like a plague, they spread throughout the pegasus galaxy feeding on human worlds and with each new world devoured they grew stronger and larger. And just like the people of my world, it was the Lanteans arrogance that led to their destruction."

"Unprepared and outnumbered the Lanteans fought until only Atlantis remained, luckily for them the city ship's shield was powerful enough to withstand the Wraith. However, they were besieged here for many years and eventually, hoping to save the last of their people, the Lanteans sunk the city and returned to earth. Leaving the city to slumber, in the hopes that their people would one day return," Harry finished taking a moment to enjoy the shocked looks on everyone's face.

"How the hell do you know all that?!" sputtered Mckay with wide eyes.

At this Harry couldn't help the grin that popped back on his face.

"The Lanteans were nice enough to leave a message, ask nicely I just might show you," he said, enjoying the disgruntled look McKay was giving him.

"I smell trouble on the horizon," Colonel Sumner spoke up.

"We're in uncharted territories, facing the possibility of an alien attack at any moment from creatures that apparently had the capacity to kick the Ancients asses. And as far as we can tell this city doesn't even have enough power to activate the shields again!" he finished heatedly.

"Rodney, can our naqahdah generator supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?" Asked Weir.

"Not a chance in hell." Replied McKay with a grim look on his face.

"Well it seems like we have our first mission," said Sumner, stepping up to the plate once again.

"With your permission Dr. Weir, I'd like to assemble a team to search for another power source immediately."

Without hesitation, Weir nodded and gave her consent. "Assemble a team Colonel Sumner and take Sheppard with you, get the lay of the land and try to find any information you can about the Wraith while you're out there. But don't forget, your top priority is finding another power source. I'd rather we not be caught with our pants down," she finished.

As Colonel Sumner radioed in his team Harry finally took this as his queue to leave.

"Right, well while I find that this conversation has probably been enlightening for everyone, it seems to me that you guys have everything under control. So while you're out there exploring the unknown I'm just going to go ahead and skedaddle, now that the city is on the surface the living quarters are finally accessible. And as the first one here on Atlantis I feel it's only fair I get first picks on our living arrangements." He said, getting up from his seat and walking towards the walls slowly enough to allow them to open as he approached.

"Wait! What about the message the Ancients left?! Where is it?!" yelled Rodney, quickly scrambling to chase after him.

Lazily waving goodbye as he walked away Harry couldn't help but shoot off a final statement before disapparating away. "I said you had to ask nicely!"

"I'd really like to know how the hell he does that." Said McKay, staring intently at the spot Harry previously occupied.

"It's probably some form of Ancient technology he found before we got here," supplied Sheppard as he too joined McKay in staring at the same spot.

"If we're to take his word to heart then it seems to be something his species can do naturally," said weir as she also came to join the two in gazing at the location Harry had made his dramatic disappearance from.

Finally speaking for the first time since he was dragged into the meeting Dr. Beckett too joined the group in their observations.

"Noo that would be somethin worth lookin intae. Ah wonder how different his biology is tae be able to teleport from one location tae another, th' amount ay power needed would be..."

"Astronomical." Finished McKay, crouching down to poke at the ground as if it held all the answers.

"I'm still not comfortable with him running around unchecked Weir," said Sumner, walking up behind the group after he had finally finished giving his orders.

"Your concern is duly noted Colonel," said Weir turning to address the man.

"But for the moment Harry has been nothing but cooperative, so until he proves to be a threat I trust that you'll behave appropriately and continue to treat him as diplomatically as possible. And this goes for everyone," Weir said turning to stare at them all.

"I hope I make myself perfectly clear when I say don't want this man antagonized, so far he has been nothing but courteous with us and I don't need to remind you people that we are alone out here. We need all the friends we can get, now I don't know about you but I'm going to try my best to stay on the good side of the guy who can teleport and throw people across the room with a single gesture. Now are we clear on this?!" Weir finished, giving each man a slight glare.

"Yes mam!" everyone replied, though Sumner looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon.

"Now gear up and get moving!" said Weir as she turned and started walking towards the gate room. 

* * *

"It should be right around this corner..." muttered Harry taking another glance at the map provided to him from one of the many terminals littered around Atlantis.

For the past hour or so he'd been steadily making his way through the city exploring as much as he could whilst he made his way towards the tower that housed the living quarters for the citizens of Atlantis. More specifically he had his eyes on the rooms that used to belong to the Lantean High Council. He figured if he was going to be making Atlantis his home then he may as well live in style. And with that in mind, he had dug through the terminals on his way towards the tower and pulled all the information in regards to the High Council figuring that like all politicians the leaders of the high council would more than likely live in relative grandeur.

"Ah, there it is!" He declared making his way around the bend of the corridor he was currently occupying and heading towards a large archway with a pair of sliding doors at the end of it.

Walking eagerly towards it, the corridor illuminating as he made his approach, he smiled and stopped before the doors as he carefully began examining the entrance for any sign of how to get in.

"Right well, I wonder if an Alohomora will work on this bad boy?" he said to himself examining the sealed archway.

However, before he could pull his wand from his holster he stepped back in surprise as a console seemed to rise from the floor adjacent to the entrance of the chamber.

"Well, that's interesting..." Harry muttered as he made his way towards the console, looking at the device there didn't really seem to be any buttons to press but the top of it seemed to be covered in some kind of gel-like pad.

Deciding to take the risk Harry placed his hand over the device and flinched as he felt a tendril of something slither past his Occlumency shields. Before he could rip his hand away whatever it was quickly disappeared and the console slipped back into the ground just as suddenly as it had appeared, the doors of the chamber opening just as suddenly. His curiosity growing Harry made his way into the large room finally laid bare before him.

"Welcome High Counselor" a voice seemed to reverberate from nowhere.

Looking dumbfounded Harry couldn't help but laugh at the absurd situations he seemed to always find himself in.

Making his way around the room Harry marveled at the grandeur of it all, past the entrance was a large living room meant for entertaining guests with a huge balcony showing the cityscape and to the side he saw a small hallway lined with doors, the first room contained one of the largest sleeping quarters he'd seen so far with its own private balcony and lavatory, slipping back into the hallway he checked the other rooms and noted that in addition to having a few guest rooms the hallway also contained a separate lavatory, making his way to the end of the hallway he couldn't help but gape at what appeared to be a control room lined with terminals, screens and all sorts of equipment.

"I guess this is where the head honcho runs the city when he doesn't feel like leaving his quarters," he said to himself as he walked around and looked at the many screens that came to life and started running diagnostics of the city.

"I'm just going to go ahead and leave this place alone until I can wrap my head around all this," he said to himself as he made his way back towards the sleeping quarters to get himself settled.

After another hour spent making himself at home and learning how to use the high-tech lavatories harry emerged from his room feeling fresh for once in the two weeks he'd spent here. He stood there dressed in a set of formal attire which he was able to dig out from the rooms wardrobe. It mostly consisted of some long beige pants, some dark tan boots that he resized to fit him and one of the few white short-sleeved undershirts which he assumed went with the more intricate outfits he had found. From the look of the wardrobe though he started getting the feeling that most of the Alterans were stuffy pricks. He could hold back his shudder at some of the gaudy outfits he had found in there and had resolved himself to transfiguring some of the clothes in there to better suit his style at a later date.

Making his way back towards the Astria Porta he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at the blatant stares he garnered from members of the expedition as he entered the most populated area of the central hub. Spotting Dr. Weir talking to McKay on the balcony of the second floor he gave her a wave as he made his way up the stairs towards the two.

"Good afternoon Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay," he said smiling at them.

"Mr. Potter, it's nice to have you back," she said with a grin glancing at his new attire.

"I see you've managed to find the living quarters. Did you find anything of interest while exploring the city?" she asked with honest curiosity.

"Other than the fact that the Lanteans have a bad taste in clothing? No, not really," he said with a grin.

"And please, call me Harry. Mr. Potter makes me feel like I'm back in school."

Weir smiled and nodded to him, "Then please call me Elizabeth."

At this McKay stepped up and presented him with his hand, "And you can call me Rodney" he said shaking Harry's hand eagerly.

"Now about that message..." he said staring intently at him. Harry laughed and nodded at Rodney.

"Yeah I guess I've let you suffer enough," he said smiling at the sour look on Rodney's face.

"From what I've been able to ascertain, the room serves multiple purposes," Harry said as he led them towards the hologram room.

"Not only did the Lanteans leave their final message on the device but it also appears to be a repository of knowledge used for the purpose of teaching the young. You can think of it as an interactive thesaurus," he said as he entered the room, the two trailing behind him.

"I'm still learning how to use most of the stuff here in Atlantis, the little I've been able to figure out wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for this thing," he finished stepping up to the podium.

"...The enemy fed upon defenseless human worlds like a great scourge until finally, only Atlantis remained." the hologram said as Elizabeth and Rodney stared enraptured.

But before it could continue Elizabeth's radio came to life and the panicked voice of one of the engineers filled the room.

"We've got an incoming wormhole and I'm reading Lieutenant Ford's identification code. They appear to be under attack!"

Worry seemed to course through Elizabeth as she picked up her radio and replied "Let them through! We're on our way!"

Before they could bolt out of the room though Harry held out a hand and stopped them.

"Grab my hands," he said staring at them both intently and presenting them his hand's, palms facing upward. Both of them gave him cautious looks before nodding and taking hold of him.

"Promise not to puke on me." He said before disapparating, not giving them a chance to reply.

Reappearing on the balcony of the control room facing the Gate he quickly grabbed them both by the arm and held them up as they swayed from the disorientating feeling of apparation. By the time they had gotten their bearings together Harry had walked towards the edge of the balcony to stare in amazement as a group after group of people made their way out the portal only to stop and stare in amazement at the room they had just entered. Finally, a group of marines with Sheppard at their lead came through the portal just as it shut down behind them.

Stepping up behind him Elizabeth took in the group of people with confusion, "Major Sheppard, who are all these people?" she said directing gaze at the major.

"And where the hell is Colonel Sumner?" she asked, worry seeping into her voice.

"Survivors from a settlement. We were attacked. Sumner and some of our men were taken." Sheppard replied grimly.

"Attacked by who?" asked Rodney, stepping out from being Elizabeth.

"It was the Wraith!" supplied a small boy standing next to Sheppard. 

* * *

It was some time later that Harry found Elizabeth and Sheppard having an intense conversation on one of the many balconies lining the main control hub next to the Astria Porta. Disillusioning himself he snuck up behind the two just in time to finish hearing what the Major was saying.

"You don't leave people in the hands of the enemy. And the fact that we are having this conversation in private lets me know that you know damn well that it's wrong, and it will totally undermine your leadership. So as the ranking military officer I ..." Sheppard was telling Elizabeth before being interrupted.

"Alright, just shut up and listen to me for a moment, alright? Come on, what do we know about the Wraith? One of the few things we do know is that they are the enemy that defeated the Ancients. When we first began to use the Stargate we found on Earth, we got ourselves into serious trouble - why?" asked weir.

Sheppard had a pained look on his face as he replied, " I don't need a history lesson ..."

"Because the people in charge didn't consider the ramifications before they reacted," said Elizabeth with a serious look on her face.

"They took our people - how am I supposed to react?" said Sheppard heatedly.

"And we're defenseless - you said so yourself. How do you know going off on some half-assed rescue mission isn't gonna to bring them all right back here to our doorstep?" shot Elizabeth.

"Maybe it will. But it's the right thing to do. Why? Because it is!" shouted Sheppard.

"John ..." sighed Elizabeth.

"If we're not gonna do this - and I mean right now - let's just turn tail and pack up, because they're coming," said Sheppard with conviction.

"You don't know that," replied Weir, though by the look on her face Harry could tell she wasn't convinced herself.

"Our people are in the hands of the enemy, Doctor. Do you know what that means? It is just a matter of time before the Wraith figure out that this is the base of our operations." said Sheppard.

Elizabeth sighed, running her hand through her hair. "I just need more information. I mean, who knows, maybe we could negotiate a peaceful ..."

"Peaceful? Are you kidding?! We weren't there for more than a few hours before they showed up." yelled Sheppard.

At this, Elizabeth shot back heatedly "Is it possible they came because of you, and that one of these people you brought back here with you tipped them off?"

"It's possible," replied Sheppard with a grimace.

"See, that is exactly the kind of snap decision I'm referring to!" yelled Elizabeth.

"They're not all bad people, and, you know, if we're gonna stick around here like you said yourself, we need friends." said Sheppard.

Elizabeth sighed and put her head between her hands as she leaned over the balcony "OK. I see your point. Now you see mine: I will not authorize a rescue mission unless I am sure there is at least a remote chance of success. I'm not sending more good people, including you, to their deaths."

"Maybe I can be of some assistance?" said Harry, choosing this moment to appear behind the two.

"Jesus christ man!" shouted Sheppard, his hand snapping to the pistol on his side.

"Stop doing that!" Sheppard said, a disgruntled look on his face.

Harry couldn't help the grin that popped on his. "Sorry, a force of habit," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"I couldn't ask you to put yourself in danger like that Harry," said Elizabeth, shooting him a pained look.

"Don't worry about it, as my friends used to say. I have a bit of a saving people thing." Harry shrugged.

"Besides, with me on your side, you won't have to send more people to their doom. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, and then some. Trust me, I'll be more than enough to handle this," said Harry gazing seriously at the pair of them.

Elizabeth seemed to crumble under his stare, a feeling of hope seeming to course through her.

"Lieutenant Ford managed to catch the six symbols on the gate before it closed. Have McKay take away the coordinates we can't get a lock on, and that's where they took our men. When we find it, we send a M.A.L.P.," said Sheppard looking intently at Elizabeth.

"Fine," she said, sighing as some life bled back into her shoulders.

"I'll get Rodney to work on it right away, start getting a team together Major," she said.

"Make it small," said Harry.

"Have faith in me, there's no point in putting more people in danger. Four of us will be more than enough," he said ignoring Sheppard's disbelieving look and turning towards Elizabeth.

"I promise you, I will get your people home," he said with conviction.

"Very well," she said. Turning to Sheppard she put on a serious front, "Go talk to Rodney and start making preparations, as soon as you have a plan you have my permission to move forward."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Retrieval

* * *

"Huh, well that's certainly interesting," said Harry while staring at the spot that used to contain what Major Sheppard had decided to rename a puddle-jumper, much to McKay's dismay.

"Are you sure this thing is safe? I mean, it has been sitting here for thousands of years so how do you know if this ship is even airworthy?" he asked skeptically, directing his gaze at McKay.

"Well luckily for us, the Ancients were way smarter than we currently are and probably ever will be, most of the things they made will remain intact for millions of years without even minor signs of deterioration or degradation of performance," McKay stated staring in admiration as the puddle-jumper reappeared hovering a few feet above the ground.

"See, you're not the only one who can disappear," taunted Sheppard over the radio. Harry couldn't help but let out a laugh at the teasing.

After Sheppard had gotten the final go-ahead from Dr. Weir, Harry was introduced to Sergeant Stackhouse and Lieutenant Ford who would be accompanying them on their retrieval mission. Making sure he had his wands securely strapped in their holsters he took a seat in the puddle-jumper and waited patiently as the other members of the team geared up.

"So you're our new LandLord?" asked Lieutenant Ford as he entered the front cabin and took his seat as the copilot.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," Harry replied with a laugh.

"Alright everyone, buckle up. Let's get this show on the road," said Sheppard as he and Stackhouse entered the cockpit and took their respective seats. Harry sat back and watched with curiosity as Sheppard pressed a few buttons here and there coaxing the craft to life.

"Flight this is puddle-jumper. We are go for launch," Sheppard spoke into his radio.

"Wait a sec, I thought we were going to go with Gateship One?" asked Ford from the copilot's seat.

"Yeah no, we're going with puddle-jumper," replied Sheppard, a frown of annoyance marring his face.

"Dr. McKay though it was cool." pointed out Ford.

"Oh, OK. Well, it's official - you don't get to name anything. Ever." shot back Sheppard heatedly and Harry couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped him.

Just then they got the all clear from McKay and Sheppard gave Ford the order to dial up the gate. Flying the ship to the center of the room Harry watched in astonishment as the floor opened up beneath them, directly over the Gateroom, the Astria Porta active and shimmering in all its glory. Skillfully Sheppard guided the ship to hover in front of the gate and just before they shot through Weir's voice came through the radio wishing them a safe passage.

Going through the gate for the first time was quite the experience for Harry and while it was still disorientating, Harry couldn't help but acknowledge that compared to wizarding methods, the Alterans definitely offered a smoother ride. Bringing himself back to the present Harry gasped in reverence at what was exhibited before him, seeing the blackness of space for the first time, the stars, the moon, and the alien world laid bare before him he was left quite speechless. He pulled himself together for the second time just as Sheppard was taking in the readings from a display that had just appeared over the windshield of the ship.

"Did you do that?" asked Ford looking at the image critically.

"I-I was just wondering where we go from here," responded Sheppard.

"I'll take that as a yes. So how do we find them once we land?" questioned Ford as he started scrolling through the display for any indication of their heading.

Just as Sheppard finished his retort of "I've been thinking about that too," a panel opened on the wall beside him revealing a handheld device with a screen on it. Removing the device from the wall and placing it in his pocket Sheppard closed his eyes and said: "Now I'm thinking about a nice turkey sandwich."

As pilot and copilot looked around the cockpit eagerly Harry turned to look at Stackhouse who was pressing his palm over his face in a pained expression at the two's antics and he couldn't help but stifle a laugh as he heard Ford's reply of "Worth a try."

Finding the Wraith ship turned out to be easier than anyone had thought, the huge overgrown structure being anything but conspicuous. Landing the puddle-jumper in a nearby clearing the marines quickly assessed their surroundings for hostiles before converging at the back of the ship to listen to Sheppard give out his orders.

"Stackhouse, I want you to stay here with the ship. Keep it cloaked until we make our return with the hostages. If anything happens and we're not back in 30 minutes you get your ass back to Atlantis and try to make radio contact with us in 3 hours," turning to the rest of them Sheppard handed Harry a radio and instructed him.

"Two clicks, that means you're clear to talk. Ford, you're with me. Let's go get our people back."

Moving through the Wraith ship Harry couldn't help but feel as if he was making his way through the innards of a giant beast. Everything seemed to have an almost organic quality to it that left them all feeling quite uncomfortable. Making their way down a corridor Harry picked up the loud stomping of something walking towards them, promptly putting his hands over Sheppard and Ford's shoulders he placed a finger over his mouth to ask them for silence as he presses them both against the wall and quickly muttered a disillusionment charm over them, smirking slightly at their amazed looks as they blended seamlessly into the wall behind them. They held their breaths as a giant guard made its way past them and Harry couldn't help but gawk at the size of a creature that could give Hagrid a run for his money. Canceling the charm a few seconds after the creature had turned a corner Harry smiled as he heard Sheppard's voice from behind him.

"Good thinking buddy." Harry turned just in time to catch Sheppard's grin turn more somber.

"Thought getting in was going to be the hard part," muttered Sheppard.

"That's the first one we've seen," returned Ford as he pulled up next to one of the pillars lining the hallway and pulled some C4 from his pack.

Making his way behind Ford, Harry placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head when he had his attention, "Put those away Lieutenant Ford, there's no need to waste equipment. I do believe I have just the thing to cover our escape," he said.

Turning towards Sheppard, Ford looked at his commanding officer for assurance before placing the C4 back in his pack.

"Just what are you thinking?" questioned Sheppard looking at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Can't ruin the surprise just yet Major Sheppard," responded Harry with a small grin. Pulling out the handheld device he had grabbed from the ship Sheppard quickly activates it and gets to work trying to decipher it.

"This collection of dots over here should be them. Ford, walk over there for a sec," he asked pointing a bit down the corridor.

"Yeah, that's you," he affirmed, smiling at the device.

Grinning as he walked back Ford couldn't help but remark, "So we got ourselves a life signs detector," much to Sheppard's dismay and Harry's amusement.

Shooting a deadpan look at Ford, Sheppard gruffly replies "We can name it later."

Making their way towards what could only be the holding cells of the ship they promptly went cell by cell until they came across the only cell holding prisoners.

"Major?" questioned a female voice from the cell.

While Sheppard checked on the captives Harry and Ford checked the perimeter, once assured that no one was going to be interrupting them anytime soon they walked back to where Sheppard was heatedly whispering to one of the most beautifully exotic women Harry had had the pleasure of laying his eyes on to date. Fighting back the blush that seemed to make its way across his face Harry did a quick count of the people being held inside the cell. Most of them seemed to be from the tribe that Sumners team had made contact with, and only a handful of marines. Quickly spotting the missing member Harry turned to Sheppard just as he finished talking to the people in the cell.

"Major Sheppard, where is Colonel Sumner?" Harry asked interrupting their heated whispers.

Turning to face him Harry took in Sheppard's grim appearance.

"It seems Colonel Sumner was taken from the cell not long ago. You two are going to need to take these people back to the ship, I'm going to go find Sumner." Sheppard said checking over his weapons before he made to leave them with the prisoners.

Silently shooting an Alohomora at the cell door Harry watched in satisfaction as the cells weblike entrance sprung apart, surprising both occupants and rescuers.

"No Colonel Sheppard, it's you who's going to take these people back to the ship. I promised Elizabeth that I would get all her people back and I intend to keep my promise." Harry said staring at Sheppard resolutely.

Sheppard seemed to want to argue the point, however taking in Harry's steely expression made him reassess his stance. Nodding in acceptance he grabbed Harry's hand in a firm handshake and wished him luck.

"Be safe Mr. Potter, I don't need to get my ass chewed out by Dr. Weir twice today." Grinning back at Sheppard, Harry gave him a mock salute and turned to leave.

"Tell Stackhouse to stay cloaked until he sees the fireworks, Major Sheppard, once you do it shouldn't be long before Colonel Sumner and I make our return." Harry shot over his shoulder as he started running down the corridor. 

* * *

Creeping silently through the corridors of the Wraith ship, his wand floating over his palm in a compass-like fashion, Harry quietly cursed his luck at the lack of detail supplied to him by the point-me spell. In a ship such as this, with multiple floors and overlapping corridors, pinpointing Sumners position turned out to be a not so simple task. And while he was able to ascertain Sumners general location with the spell, Harry had no way of knowing whether Colonel Sumner was above or below him. Looking distastefully at the innards of the ship Harry started making his way down another corridor before the pained screams of someone being tortured stopped him in his tracks. Quickly turning and running in the direction of the screams he came upon a balcony from which he could peer into what seemed to be a dining room with a mummified corpse sitting at the head of the table and there, in the center of the room, he spotted Colonel Sumner. A creature was leaning over him with its hand placed over his bare chest, Sumners features were scrunched up in agony and from his vantage point harry could only watch in horror as he seemed to grow old with every passing second. Feeling a rage he hadn't felt since the war Harry apparated into the room drawing both his wands from their confines. As the two burly guards snapped to attention at his sudden appearance Harry shot off a blasting spell from each wand before either could lift their weapons. The first guards head exploded sending him to his knees resembling a puppet with its strings cut. The second guard simply exploded in a gory display of violence, the force strong enough to send the creature hovering over Sumner crashing to the side of the room. Making his way towards Sumner, Harry quickly swiveled on his feet as the doorway to the dining room opened revealing what Harry could only describe as a shark-faced vampire. It bared its ugly maw at him in rage and made to charge forward however before it could even take a step in his direction a well placed severing curse removed its head from its body.

Breathing heavily Harry turned and knelt next to Sumners crumpled form watching in sorrow as he seemed to struggle just to breathe. Finally noticing his presence Sumner turned his unseeing eyes, his gaze ghosted over in cataracts, towards Harrys kneeling figure.

"P-please," he wheezed, struggling just to form the words.

"Take c-care of m-my people," he said, just before letting out a final sigh and slumping to the ground in death.

Rage and sorrow coursing through his body Harry fought back the tears and he gently slid his hand over Sumners' face, closing his glazed over eyes. Picking himself up from his kneeling position Harry quickly got back into a defensive position as he heard the rustling of fabric make its way around the room. Shifting his gaze immediately to the side of the room where the creature feeding off Sumner had crashed, he frowned as he took in the empty space.

Cautiously checking his surrounding he couldn't help but let off a shiver as a breathy and hissing voice seemed to permeate throughout the chamber.

"Such power, such aggression... It has been a long time since we've encountered a being so full of... energy," came the breathy whispers from the darkness.

"Tell me... are there more of you?" the creature asked, the rustling of fabric becoming more prevalent as it moved from spot to spot in an attempt to position itself where it could gain an advantage.

Frowning, Harry winced as he felt the beginnings of a compulsion press against the forefront of his mind.

"Where do you come from?" hissed the creature, the compulsion pressing harder on his mind.

Steeling himself Harry slammed his Occlumency barriers in place and sighed as he felt the compulsion slide off and dissipate to nothingness.

"Your mind tricks won't work on me, creature!" Harry sneered into the darkness.

"Stronger beings then you have tried, and in the end, they've all failed. So why don't you stop hiding? Scared of facing the unknown are you? It's not so fun when your food bites back is it?" Harry taunted, a vicious grin marring his face.

Suddenly a screech came from above and he barely dodged as the creature, what he could now make out as a female Wraith, swiped its claws at where his face would be had he not jumped to the side. Quickly shooting off a stunner he watched as the creature bent over backward, making an impersonation of a limbo dancer, dodging his spell by mere inches. Quickly, before the Wraith could launch another attack, Harry closed his eyes and cast a Lumos Maxima between them. Taking satisfaction in the pained screeches of the Wraith Harry opened his eyes and took in the sight of the creature as it palmed at its face with one hand while simultaneously swiping its other hand through the air in an attempt defend itself from Harry's advance. Quickly shooting a Defodio through the thing, before it could get in a lucky strike, Harry watched with grim satisfaction as the Wraith crashed against the wall behind her a hole the size of a quaffle punched through its abdomen.

Cautiously walking towards the Wraith he watched grimly as the thing stared back at him with wide eyes, rasping with every attempt to breathe, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"You don't know what you have done." It said, a vicious look marring her face.

"We are merely the caretakers for those that sleep. When I die, the others will awake." She gasped, taking in a last shuddering breath.

"All of them." She sneered before slumping back in death.

Cautiously stepping back, harry felt a shiver go down his spine as he began to hear something slither and crawl from the darkness. Looking upwards Harry could only stare in horror as what started off as a small unnerving noise turned into a macabre symphony as slowly the ceiling came to life, honeycombed cells illuminating as the beings within them began to wither about. Shooting off a curse Harry quickly pulled the Elder wand and steeled himself as he pointed it grimly at the ceiling and shouted "Fiendfyre!"

He only had seconds to spare as he stared in shock at the giant flaming dragon that shot from his wand before crashed into the ceiling with a roaring, billowing noise, quickly spreading through the room as fiery monsters and beasts set upon their task with pleasure, devouring the ship from within. Sparing one last glance at the ceiling, where he could hear the Wraith screeching in agony as the flames sought them one by one, he quickly turned on the spot and disapparated leaving the cursed flame to devour the ship to its hearts content.

Popping back to existence in the clearing where the puddle-jumper was cloaked Harry turned and regarded the Wraith Ship just an explosion tore the ship in two. He watched grimly as a giant manticore made of flames erupted from the breach and gave out a monstrous roar before diving back into the remainder of the ship to happily continue its consumption. Hearing the crunching of leaves underfoot Harry turned towards the edge of the clearing, his wands at the ready, only to sigh in relief as Sheppard, Ford and the hostages made their way towards him their mouths gaping as they stared in shock at the mythical creatures devouring the ship.

"What the hell is that?!" Exclaimed Sheppard making his way into the clearing.

"Fireworks, Major Sheppard," Harry said with a small smile.

However, it quickly fell off his face as he broke the bad news, "I'm sorry John," he said, remorse tainting his voice.

"I was too late to save Colonel Sumner, by the time I made it to him, the Wraith had drained the last of his life," he said, noting his and the marines pained expressions.

"It's ok Mr. Potter, you did your best. And I couldn't think of a better send-off than this," Said Sheppard, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder and staring intently and the burning visage of the Wraith ship.

"Sumner would be proud," affirmed Ford, pulling up beside them.

After they had taken their moment to appreciate the burning ship Sheppard radioed Stackhouse and they all sighed in relief when the puddle-jumper decloaked just a few feet away from them. Quickly gathering everyone into the ship they all took their seats as Sheppard retook his place in the cockpit, Lieutenant Ford taking his as copilot once more.

Sighing as the weight of what had just occurred finally ran its course Harry sank into his seat, his shoulders falling in exhaustion, as he played the events over and over again through his mind, wishing he could somehow turn back time for another chance to save Sumner. Lost in his thoughts, Harry was startled when he felt a hand cover his shoulder. Turning his head to the side he was quickly drawn into the mocha colored eyes of the native that had made him blush like a schoolboy back on the Wraith Ship.

"I am Teyla Emmagan, and my people and I are most grateful for your help in securing our escape from the Wraith," she said earnestly, bowing her head to the point where it almost touched his.

Fighting furiously the blush that was crawling its way up his face Harry quickly averted his eyes stuttered a reply, "P-please, don't think too much of it."

Smiling at his blustering Teyla stepped back and informed him,"You have done us a great service and it is not the Athosian way to ignore such debts, if there is ever the need, know that our doors are always open to you."

Smiling one last time at him Tayla turned and slid to the back of the ship to continue talking with the rest of her people.

"Oh ho ho, seems like someone's got a little crush," Whispered Ford from the copilot's seat.

Grumbling Harry shuffled and shot Ford a glare, much to the Lieutenant's amusement. 

* * *

When they finally made it back to Atlantis its was too many sighs of relief and cheers of adulation. The rescued natives ran to their loved one's embraces and the marines to hearty claps on the back and firm handshakes. Dr. Weir as standing on the forefront of the congregation smiling at their safe return, a relieved look marring her otherwise happy visage. That night, to celebrate their safe return, the Athosians and the expedition members threw an impromptu celebration. Walking through the crowd of people, receiving multiple thanks and claps on the back, Harry let a sigh of relief escape him.

For their first foray in fighting the Wraith there were fewer casualties than he had expected, but with the parting words of the Wraith queen floating over his shoulders Harry couldn't help but feel uneasy. The records he had seen so far indicated that the Wraith had a far larger force out there than the one ship they had encountered and Harry knew it was only a matter of time before the proverbial shit hit the fan. Making his way towards the balcony where he could Spot Major Sheppard deep in conversation with Dr. Weir and Tayla he reached them just in time to catch the end of their conversation.

"I'm beginning to think you were right - I have made things much worse. I haven't made us many more friends out there," Sheppard was saying.

"No? Look around you," stated Weir, turning towards the control room where the party was in full bloom.

Walking up to them Tayla shot in her two cents, "I agree, Major Sheppard. You have earned both my friendship and that of my people. With our help, you will make many more friends," she said before greeting him in what Harry had learned was the customary welcome for the Athosians.

Though he couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that coursed through him. Finally reaching them Harry made his presence known.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, fighting back the blush he gained from taking in Tayla's beautiful visage once more.

"I was hoping to talk to you Elizabeth, I wanted to apologize and convey my deepest regret for being unable to save Colonel Sumner. I made you a promise, and I failed." He said, shame coursing through his body.

"Oh Harry, there is nothing to forgive," replied Weir, coming up to him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"With your help, Major Sheppard and his men were able to recover our people with minimal casualties and risk to his team. You have done more than we could or should ask of you and you have our eternal gratitude for it," she said, moving a hand to his face and raising it from where it had fallen in shame.

Collecting himself from the pit of despair he had dug himself Harry gave her a firm nod.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," he whispered before turning and losing himself in the mass of celebrating bodies.

"Just who is this man?" Asked Teyla as she watched the young man who had liberated them walk into the crowd.

"Well, I guess you could say he's our landlord," replied Sheppard shooting a smile at the grinning Lieutenant Ford who had made his way to them.

"He says he's a refugee, the last of his kind. He tells us he made his way to Atlantis after his civilization had been destroyed," said Weir, also looking at Harrys retreating back.

"When we arrived on Atlantis he was already here." She said turning back to the group.

"Yeah, but there's a bet going around as to whether that's true. The scientists think he's an Ancient, left here to protect the city in the hope of their eventual return. And the marines think he's some kind of alien waiting for his chance to eat us all in our sleep," said Ford, a silly grin covering his face.

Weir shot a disapproving glare at the Lieutenant, wiping the grin from his face instantly.

"Uh-uh , but not everybody thinks that," he blustered.

"I do not sense hostility from him, what would give your people such an impression?" Asked Tayla, turning her inquisitive gaze towards Sheppard.

"We really didn't set a good first impression the first time around," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a grimace.

"We came at a bad time and he had to throw a few of us around before everything calmed down." Sheppard finished sheepishly.

"I am sure that by this time you have seen for yourself that Mr. Potter is not like the rest of us," said Weir turning towards Teyla.

"Unfortunately, it is within human nature to fear that which they do not understand, and in Mr. Potter's case there is much we don't understand." finished Weir lamely, looking slightly ashamed.

Tayla frowned, knowing from personal experience just how much being different caused people to fear.

* * *

It had been a week since the rescue mission and Harry had taken to locking himself up in his suite. With his permission, the scientific teams had already started conducting their exploration of Atlantis whilst simultaneously the marines were launching search parties in order to form alliances and search for replacement Potentia to replace their depleted ones. To Harry, the expedition team sent from earth had proven themselves to be quite formidable. While they had had some hiccups along the way, mainly letting lose some formless creature that the Lanteans had locked in a cage and Major Sheppard coming back from a mission with some type of giant space tick attached to his neck, they had otherwise proven themselves to be quite competent in dealing with unusual situations.

Hoping to provide more assistance Harry had secluded himself in his personal control room, dedicating his time to learning as much as he could from the Atlantis database. It was during his studies of the many systems of Atlantis that Harry had stumbled across something that finally filled him with hope.

Making his way towards the central tower, his stride filled with purpose, Harry quietly took in the tense atmosphere that seemed to permeate the Air. There seemed to be a stronger military presence throughout the control tower and for the first time in many days he noticed a distinct lack of Athosians wandering the halls. Making his was past the Astria Porta and towards the stairs leading to the office which had claimed as her own he frowned as two marines he didn't recognize blocked his path.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but this place is off limits to civilians," the marine stuttered, trying his best to gather his courage.

Frowning Harry gave the men a steely glare that seemed to make them flinch.

"I'd like to see you try and stop me," he said before disapparating. Appearing past the guards harry kept his steady march towards Dr. Weir's office only to frown as he found it empty, turning he started making his way back and came across the marines who were a bit out of breath from running up the stairs just to catch up to him.

"Where is Dr. Weir? And just what the bloody hell is going on?!" He asked heatedly.

"I'm sorry sir," said one of the marines holding his hands up placatingly.

"There may have been a security leak. Dr. Weir is currently in the process of conducting interviews with the Athosians in the hopes of uncovering any deceit on their part, unfortunately, all this talk of traitors had put a rift between the expedition members and the Athosians and there is talk of them leaving for the mainland" he finished, with a pained look on his face. Harry frowned his fury rising by the second.

"Take me to Dr. Weir," he said through gritted teeth.

"Now!" he yelled, seeing their uncertain looks.

Quickly spotting the way Harrys emerald eyes seemed to start to glow and how his hair seemed to pick up in an unseen breeze the marines decided that this wasn't a day to push their luck, quickly nodding to each other they turned around and began leading Harry to the room in which Dr. Weir was conducting her interviews.

Quietly stepping into the room Harry took a moment to calm himself and listen as the people gathered inside seemed to be enthralled in a heated discussion over some trinket laying on the table.

"So Teyla had no idea she was giving away your position," Weir was saying from a seated position, playing with the trinket on the table.

"She said it was a present from her father. She lost it when she was a kid," responded Sheppard.

"It was probably dormant 'til Major Sheppard picked it up, activating it," McKay informed them, tapping away at a laptop.

"If she wore it as a kid, how come they weren't attacked back then?" Inquired a marine Harry wasn't too familiar with.

"I'm sorry Sergeant Bates, were you not paying attention? Didn't I just say it was dormant?" Said McKay, and annoyed look crossing his features.

"But if it was activated by touch ..." the marine shot back before being interrupted.

"You're not listening. I said Major Sheppard activated it," McKay heatedly replied before turning to look expectantly at Weir.

"As far as the Wraith are concerned, Teyla is just another human being," she said a look of understanding crossing her features.

McKay nodded further elaborating, "They would have no special interest tracking her. Now, Major Sheppard on the other hand ..."

"... has the Ancient gene," supplied Weir, finishing McKay's sentence.

"Exactly. Now at one point, the Wraiths and the Ancients were at war. The Wraiths created the transmission device to detect Ancients," finished Dr. McKay, looking quite pleased with himself.

"So some Athosian thought this would make a nice little necklace?" Asked Sheppard, confusion marring his features.

Sputtering McKAy turned to look at Sheppard like he was an idiot.

"How could I possibly know that? What am I, Answer Man? The point is ..."

"... it wasn't Teyla - or any other Athosian for that matter," concluded Weir, finishing McKay's sentence for the second time.

Gaining a fierce grin Sheppard put his hands on the table and looked intently at Weir before stating, "If that's the case, we can use it against 'em."

Having heard enough Harry chose this moment to interrupt the meeting.

"Before you head off on your little hunt Major Sheppard, there's something we need to clear up between all of us here," Harry said, startling the group of people who, up to this point, had thought themselves alone.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" Yelled Sergeant Bates, his hand going towards his holstered sidearm.

Shooting a glare at the marine Harry let some of his previous anger bleed through, freezing the Sergeants movement as a wind seemed to pick up and the objects on the table started to rattle.

"You forget yourself, Sergeant Bates," Harry seethed.

"You people have been courteous to this point but let me remind you that you are a guest in my City, not the other way around!" Harry finished in a half shout making the occupants in the room flinch at his tone.

Breathing deeply and closing his eyes to calm himself down Harry concentrated on pulling his power back in, making the breeze disappear and the objects stop shaking. Opening his eyes once more harry took in the frightened looks on the faces of the team and felt a frown slip on his.

"Whilst I'm happy that you seem to have resolved the issue of your supposed leak it is unfortunate that in your overly cautious approach you've managed to isolate the very people you all called friends not too long ago," Harry said, shooting a disappointed glare at Dr. Weir.

"It has been brought to my attention that the Athosians wish to leave Atlantis and settle on the mainland because of the overzealous actions of your expedition members," Harry said accusingly, noting with satisfaction the guilty looks on everyone's faces.

"This will not do! Atlantis is the safest place in this galaxy, and I will not sacrifice the safety of some for the comfort of others," he finished heatedly, glaring at Bates who looked ready to argue.

"Dr. Weir, you are to gather everyone in the gate room in 30 minutes. You will prepare a public apology to the Athosians and inform your marines that they are no longer required to police the hallways, it's time to fix the trust that you have so readily broken," he said before turning on the spot and disapparating from the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: New Adjustments

 **AN: After a few comments pointing out the format of my writing in regards to character dialogue I've come to agree with the masses. It is difficult to read. I blame having to write essay style most of my life. Anywho I'm always willing to adapt so from now on I'll update my style and reformat my previous chapters. Thank you all for your support and input.**

* * *

Thirty minutes later and the control room was overflowing with people, looking through the room you could still see the visible divide between the expedition members and the Athosians. On one side of the room were the Athosians, huddled in groups wrapped in hushed conversations looking worriedly at one another and on the other side stood the expedition members also steeped in silent conversations shooting the Athosians suspicious glances when they thought no one was looking. Sighing in disappointment Harry could only shake his head as he walked around the room invisible and charmed to keep people from noticing his presence.

Glimpsing up at the balcony of the control hub Harry and the rest of the people crowded in the room watched with rapt attention as Dr. Weir came and stood before them asking for silence.

"Today I have gathered you all here to try and correct a great injustice committed by me and my crew towards the Athosian people." Weir started, gaining the collective attention of everyone in the room.

"In a time where our very survival depends on our ability to work together, my actions have caused suspicion, bias, and animosity to fester within our tiny community." She said looking down at them with deep sadness.

"I let fear dictate my judgments, and in doing so I have wronged the very people who opened their hearts and homes so readily to us. Our allies in the fight against the Wraith. Our first friends in a galaxy so far from our home."

"I will forever regret my actions in the past week. Actions which cause my expedition members to spurn the Athosian people and look at them with doubt when they did nothing to warrant it. You have every right to be angry with me and my people, there is no excuse for our behavior." she said, shame present in her tone.

"While our actions are not easy to forgive or forget, It is my wish that we can once again work together in an effort to rebuild the trust that we once had, trust which you have given so readily."

"And so, with this in mind, I ask those members of the Athosian community who lead their people through adversity to come together in the hopes of creating a council with the purpose of establishing a more open and inclusive dialogue between our communities."

"Thank you for your time." She finished before stepping back from the balcony and making her way down the stairs towards a group of Athosians where Teyla and a long haired man seemed to be entrenched in dialogue with the people around them.

Taking this as his queue Harry removed his charms and apparated to the spot that Dr. Weir had previously occupied, his sudden appearance ant the loud pop of apparation calling attention to the room once again.

"For those of you who do not know me, my name is Harry Potter. High Counselor of the city-ship Atlantis." He stated, taking in the looks of shock and confusion spreading across the room.

"Ten thousand years ago the Lanteans sunk this city to the depths of the ocean in the hopes that one day their descendants would return to reclaim what which was theirs and continue the fight against the Wraith, which like a scourge had spread throughout this galaxy leaving no world untouched."

"Unfortunately that day will never come," Harry said grimly, looking at the faces of everyone gathered before him.

"The people you see in this room, the many lives scattered across this galaxy, they, you are the legacy left behind by this once great civilization."

"For the first time… since the disappearance of the Alterans , the people of this galaxy once again have the technology to prevent their own extinction. To reclaim the freedom so readily taken from you by the Wraith."

"You now have an unprecedented opportunity, an opportunity to create a world, a galaxy, without fear of future cullings. One where the defenseless are no longer vulnerable to the whims of these parasites we call the Wraith."

"But only by working together can this be accomplished, only together can we take back this galaxy from the Wraith." He said with conviction.

"I do not know when another moment like this will present itself," he said looking around the room.

"I can only hope that you grasp this chance firmly lest you let it slip away." Harry finished.

Stepping back from the balcony Harry made his way down the stairs and headed towards Dr. Weir who seemed to be in a discussion with a group of Athosians.

"Mr. Potter, or is it High Councilor now? That was quite the speech." Said Weir with a small smile on her face as he approached the group.

"Please Elizabeth, just Harry is fine," replied Harry, fighting a blush.

"I've got nothing on you, Elizabeth, compared to you I felt like quite the amateur." he said, shooting her a grin.

"Yes well, I've had many years of practice as a politician. You seem to be quite the natural, though," Elizabeth shot back, enjoying the way he fiddled about, his cheeks tinted red.

"Well now that you're here, let me introduce you to my friend. This is Halling, he was the first Athosian we ever came across when we first gated to Athos." Elizabeth stated, directing his gaze towards the long haired Athosian.

"Greetings Harry Potter," Halling said, making a gesture with his hand beneath his chin.

"A pleasure," nodded Harry.

"And of course this is Tayla, who I believe you've already had the pleasure of meeting." Said Elizabeth, nodding to the exotic woman beside her.

Fighting the blush crawling its way towards his face Harry couldn't help but curse his pale complexion which did nothing to hide his obvious attraction.

"It's good to see you again Tayla." he said softly, trying his best not to stare too much at the beautiful Athosian.

"And you as well Harry Potter." replied Tayla, a teasing smile coming over her face as she noticed his not so subtle glances.

Clearing his throat Harry quickly steered his way towards safer waters.

"I was hoping to speak with you Elizabeth, as well as some of the Athosians," he said staring at the group intently.

"From what I've been told, the Athosians wish to relocate to the mainland. And while I understand their reasons I was hoping to dissuade them from the idea." here he turned to the group of Athosians.

"I realize that recent events have made things uncomfortable for the Athosians here in Atlantis. However, the fact remains that Atlantis remains the safest place to be on this planet, nay this galaxy, and it is my fear that by relocating to the mainland the Athosians will only present themselves as a target of opportunity in the event of a Wraith attack," Harry said, trying to convey his point across.

"For the past few weeks I've been studying extensively the layout of Atlantis and a few of its corresponding systems and I have come across what I hope will be a possible alternative to the situation we face today." he stated, shooting a pleading glance at the Athosians.

"Our people appreciate your consideration and are willing to listen to any possible solutions you may have to offer Harry Potter," Halling said, inclining his head in agreeance.

"Yes, I too seek to minimize any possibility of harm befalling the Athosian people," Tayla added, shooting him a grateful look.

"Then it's decided," stated Weir.

"We'll meet in the in the conference room in an hour. Tayla, Halling, if you could gather those who speak for the majority of the Athosians. Hopefully, we can come to a solution that works to best for both our people." Said Weir, looking hopefully at those gathered around her.

"It will be done," Halling declared, before giving them a short nod and disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

A little over an hour later and the last of those asked to attend Harry's little pow-wow walked into the conference room of Atlantis. On one side of the horseshoe-shaped table were the Athosians, the most recognizable of whom were Halling and Tayla, talking silently amongst themselves with hopeful looks on their faces and on the other side were the members of the Atlantis expedition consisting of Dr. Weir, Dr. Makay, Dr. Beckett, Major Sheppard and Sargent Bates.

Making his way across the room from his standing position by the entrance Harry stood before the people assembled before him and addressed those in the chamber.

"I thank you all for gathering here on such short notice." he started, taking a moment to glance around the room.

"I know things have been difficult the past week due to the strained relationship between the people in Atlantis but now that we have gathered you all here and paved way for a more open and inclusive dialogue I hope we can begin the hard work of bringing the many systems of Atlantis back to operational capacity," Harry said, looking hopefully at the people gathered in the room.

"Elizabeth, if you could. Tell us, what are the most pressing issues facing Atlantis at the moment?" He asked, turning towards her.

"Well other than the urgent issue of power, food is one of our most pressing problems. We arrived with limited provisions, what we brought would have been enough to provide solely for the expedition members for about one more month at the most before we would have been forced to seek provisions off-world. However, with the addition of the Athosians to our ranks, those provisions are being employed at a faster rate than we could have anticipated." She said, turning a guilty eye to the Athosians.

"However," she interrupted before the Athosians could let their displeasure known.

"We understand the need to evacuate Athos in a timely matter far exceeded the need to pick up rations and provisions for what I am sure they suspected to only be temporary measures."

"On top of that, I and my people also acknowledge that if it wasn't for our presence on Athos then the likelihood of the Wraith attacking when they did would have been far less greater than had we not been present. It is for this reason that over the last few weeks the expedition members have been rationing their food in order to accommodate the influx of people." She finished, looking to the Athosians, a glimmer of shame crossing her features.

"Now it is my understanding that the Athosians are talented hunters, farmers, and traders. Is this not so?" asked Harry, turning to Halling and Tayla's side of the table.

"Indeed," Halling stated, shooting Harry a curious look.

"Because of the cullings, our people have had to learn to adapt over the generations. We have become quite adept when it comes to providing for ourselves and this includes establishing trade with several other worlds." Tayla supplied.

Thanking Tayla for her input Harry turned and addressed the rest of the room again.

"By studying the layout of Atlantis and its subsequent systems for the past week I have stumbled across an area of Atlantis that will address three of our most pressing issues."

Walking to the side of the room Harry made his way to one of the terminals lining the walls. By pressing a few keys he was able to bring up a 3-D projection of Atlantis in the spot he previously occupied in the center of the room. He smiled at the awed faced of those around him before addressing them once more.

"I want to direct your attention to the South Pier." He said before pressing another key that highlighted that section of Atlantis.

"In addition to holding an entire building devoted to living quarters, this section of Atlantis also houses what I understand to be a botany lab, a greenhouse, a cargo hold, various labs, and most importantly." Harry paused for dramatic effect.

"This structure here," he said pointing to a large rectangular building, "as I've come to understand, is the manufacturing wing for potentia." He said, smiling gleefully at the amazed looks on everyone's faces.

"Elizabeth! Do you know what this means?!" Yelled Dr. Mckay, his face lighting up like a child on Christmas morning.

"It means we can finally kick some ass!" Sid Sheppard, grinning viciously.

"However." Interrupted Harry before the room could get too excited.

"It is my understanding that this building alone requires one dedicated Potentia. The manufacturing of the cells themselves take little energy, but the creations of... what the hell did they call it? Ah yes, pocket universes. The creation of these inside the cells takes tremendous amounts of energy." Harry finished looking at the dejected looks on the expeditions faces.

"That seems quite understandable," McKay muttered to himself before addressing the room.

"The device itself serves as an enclosure for an artificially created pocket of subspace-time. Pretty similar to the crystal based technology used by the Tokra. The inside of the device is not so simple on the other hand. Basically what you have is a miniature universe in a bottle. And what do we know about the creation of the universe?" Mckay asked looking expectantly around the room. When no one was forthcoming he sighed while rubbing a hand down his face.

"Before there was light there was...?" He asked looking at the room expectantly.

"For god sake, Rodney just spit it out!" yelled Sheppard, his patience having run out.

"Before there was light there was a bang!" Said McKay looking at them all in disappointment.

"In order to create a universe, you need sufficient energy to recreate what is essentially a Big Bang within the device. The single ZPM essentially works as a glorified spark plug. Once this artificial region of subspace-time is created a ZPM is capable of supplying tremendous amounts of energy. " He said, finishing his lecture and looking quite put out with the Major.

"So this leaves us back to square one." Elizabeth sighed.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth but yes. While this doesn't offer an immediate solution to our power problem it is still something that we can all look forward to in the future. For now, Finding a fully charged and functioning potentia remains our top priority." Harry said, a small frown on his face.

"However there is still something to be gained, I wish to offer the Athosians the option of relocating to the building which houses the living quarters for this section of the city." he stated looking at the hopeful expressions on Halling and Tayla's faces.

"And what I would like from you, Elizabeth, is a little assistance. It is my intent that, with help from members of your team, the Athosians can begin to utilize the greenhouse and botany labs to immediately begin cultivating food for the people of Atlantis," he said looking eagerly at the expedition members.

"If we can work together towards this goal I am sure that with the technology provided by this city we will, in a very short amount of time, be able to become self-sustaining." Harry finished.

Looking around the room Harry smiled as everyone began an excited dialogue between the people gathered around the table. Speaking excitedly among themselves the Athosians seemed to come to a conclusion. Nodding to her people Tayla turned to address the room.

"We will gladly accept the new lodgings offered to us Harry Potter, and while we too are unfamiliar with the technology of the ancestors our people are dedicated and we are fast learners. We would eagerly accept any assistance provided to us in the pursuit of this endeavor." She announced, bowing her head in acceptance.

"And we will willingly provide any assistance needed. Mckay if you could, gather the botanists and direct them to cooperate with the Athosians on this task. I want you to make this their top priority for the moment, they can return to their original mission once we have everything settled." Directed Elizabeth.

Turning to Dr. Beckett she called for his attention.

"Dr. Beckett, I have a task for you as well. With the permission of the Athosians, I want you to start screening people for possible carriers of the ATA gene. We're going to need every able body if we are to proceed in a timely manner." She said, gaining everyone's attention.

Turning to the room she addressed the curious looks being directed at her.

"Atlantis is a large city and it's going to take all of us protect her in the case of any attack. If the Athosians agree, it is my intention to begin training those with the ATA gene in the use of the puddle-jumpers as well as a handful of other systems. I also ask for any willing Athosians to volunteer for ATA gene therapy in the hopes of cultivating more people with the ability to use the technology in Atlantis." explained.

And while some people looked ready to argue this point, mainly Sergeant Bates and Major Sheppard, Elizabeth quickly put them in their place.

"Whether the military personnel agrees with me or not, the fact remains that we are severely understaffed. We need every able body available." She said looking sternly at the members of her team.

"An added bonus of this will be the Athosians ability to explore sections of the mainland without it taking up the time of the military personnel." She supplied.

"We find this to be most agreeable as well. Our people are not the kind to sit patiently and accept help without being able to contribute to the wellness of the whole. Delegating tasks to us that are within our ability to do will greatly help the spirit of our people and will only work to further their relationship with the members of the Atlantis expedition." Halling added, looking quite pleased with the way things were going.

"Then we have an accord. Everyone knows the tasks set before them, I hope that with this we can now begin the process of mending our fractured relationships. I thank you all for your time and your patience, this concludes our meeting." Elizabeth stated standing up from her seat and smiling widely at those gathered before her.

With the meeting adjourned people slowly trickled out the room. The Athosians whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Leaning back against a wall Harry waited as men and women slipped past him one by one until only the only people remaining were Dr. Weir, Major Sheppard, Tayla, and Dr. McKay. Making his way to the small he took in Weir's broad grin as he approached.

"My goodness Harry, I really can't thank you enough. You really came through for us today." She said with a thankful look.

Blushing Harry tried to deflect some of her gratitude.

"Please Elizabeth, my motives aren't purely altruistic. A man has gotta eat you know. And getting Atlantis up and running is mostly based on me not wanting to die so soon after arriving here."

"The last thing I want is to end up as Wraith food because the people here couldn't work together." He said with a grumble.

Laughing at his embarrassment Weir ignored his comments and picked up the conversation she was having before Harry had interrupted them.

"I was just about to tell Major Sheppard here that his mission to try and capture a Wraith for interrogation has been approved, if you're up to it Harry I'm sure they wouldn't mind the company." She asked.

"Actually I was hoping I could steal away Dr. McKay for a little while. There are some things I wanted to get his input on."

"While I've come a long way since arriving on Atlantis there are still things I don't understand. I'm hoping he can help shed some light on certain subjects." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yes well, we can't all be geniuses," McKay stated, smiling arrogantly at them all.

Harry didn't quite catch what Major Sheppard mumbled under his breath but he caught the man rolling his eyes quite clearly and fought to stifle a smile.

"I'm sure Rodney would be more than happy to help," Elizabeth supplied, fighting her own urge to roll her eyes at the man.

Frowning at his colleague's easy dismissal McKay made his way to exit the room.

"Yes well lead the way, Mr. High Chancellor." He responded, pretending to hold the door open.

Taking a moment to grin at the man Harry turned to Major Sheppard and Tayla and wished them luck.

"Happy hunting Major Sheppard, be safe out there," Harry said before turning to MxKay before grabbing the man by the bicep and disapparating.

* * *

Reappearing at the entrance to his suit Harry gave McKay a moment to gather himself.

"A little warning would be appreciated next time Mr. Potter," McKay said as he leaned against a wall trying to regain his equilibrium.

Grinning at the man Harry answered him glibly.

"I find the trip becomes easier the less time you give people to prepare."

"Yeah, well that's debatable," McKay muttered, picking himself up from the wall.

Making his way to his quarters Harry slid past the entrance, the doorway opening for him as he approached and the disembodied voice giving its usual greeting, and sat on one of the many seats in his lounge area waiting patiently for Dr. McKay to make his appearance.

As McKay entered from the hallway, Harry couldn't help but smile as the man seemed to be fascinated by the suite.

"This is way larger than the rooms we have," the man said with a hint of jealousy.

"Yes, your people are still occupying the crew quarters I believe. Once you make your way towards the inner city you should be able to find more agreeable accommodations." Harry said as he stood up and directed the man to follow him.

"I've been spending quite some time reviewing the information on my personal terminals but there are still things I'm having a difficult time deciphering." He started as he leads McKay down his hallway and towards his personal control room.

Opening the doorway he stood back and let the man walk past him and into the room. McKay for his part seemed to be salivating, he eagerly ran around the room moving from one piece of equipment to the next. Hemming and hawing as he ran around like an overgrown child. Harry couldn't help but smile fondly as the man began reminding him of Hermione whenever she was presented with something new to study.

"This is amazing, you can control most of the city from here!" McKay said excitedly.

"You have most the diagnostics for the ship gathered in a centralized location. And you're terminals seem to have broader access capabilities than the ones around Atlantis!" He announced going up to one of the terminals.

But just as he tried to press a few keys the terminal gave a sharp alarm and a red text appeared. Frowning the man quickly turned to Harry.

"I've been locked out," he said a bit impetuously.

"My apologies Dr. McKay, I didn't think they would. But I suspect that these terminals have security protocols that ensure no foul play." Harry said as he slipped next to the man and accessed the terminal for him.

Turning back to the terminal McKay seemed to be enraptured the flowing text across the screen.

"This is amazing, you can activate the ship's shields and even the gate shield from this one terminal." He said breathlessly.

"What I need from you Dr. McKay is a translation for these lines of texts over here," Harry said, guiding the man to another terminal.

"This is the database for most of the building and labs throughout Atlantis, its where I managed to pull the information regarding the manufacturing wing for the potentia as well as the location for the greenhouse and botany labs," Harry explained showing the man the miniature model of Atlantis and the corresponding text on the screen.

"See here," Harry said as he pressed on specific building only to have the adjacent text turn red.

Leaning over him McKay studied the text intently.

"It says here that this lab has been closed indefinitely. If I understand it correctly the technology held within this room is banned by the Lantean Council in order to prevent the dangers associated with it." McKay explained while frowning at the screen.

"Well, that's no good. There are over a hundred locations just like this one." Harry pointed out to McKay when the man turned his questioning gaze towards him.

"Most of them belonging to some man named Janus," he added with a small smile.

"Seems like someone didn't like being told what to do," McKay said sardonically.

"Right well let us start making a list of these locations, I want you to tell Weir about them so we can avoid any surprises in the future," Harry said while summoning some parchment from his living quarters.

Stealing a pen from McKay's pocket he ignored the man's cry of indignation and started writing down some of the locations down.

"For now I'll just write down the ones in our immediate vicinity." He informed the scientist.

"We'll need to have another meeting so we can go deeper into detail about these locations. Do me the favor and let Dr. Weir know," Harry said before turning to McKay and handing him the parchment.

"What the hell do I look like your secretary?!" the man blustered.

Smirking at the man Harry quickly moved from one terminal to the center of the room and waited patiently as a control column rose from the space he was standing in front of. Ignoring McKay who started hovering over the control column Harry quickly pressed his hand over the device and closed his eyes in concentration.

"I'm going to be locking up these locations for the time being. Let your team know if they come across a locked door it's best they do not try to force their way in until cleared by Dr. Weir," he informed the man as a terminal to the left of him started displaying the many rooms selected and highlighted them in red as the rooms were secured one by one.

"Wait! We should have teams investigating these locations, there could be technology in here we could use against the Wraith," Mckay argued looking crestfallen as his access to the many rooms were denied.

"If the Lanteans believed the technology here posed a danger to the residents of Atlantis then I'm not going to take the risk," Harry argued back.

"You said so yourself Dr. McKay, these people were smarter than we could ever hope to be. Don't take these things lightly." Harry said, shooting a reproachful look at the man.

Looking adequately chided McKay took to studying the other displays in the room as Harry continued his task.


End file.
